Ten Seconds
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Don freaks out ten seconds after realizing he's in love with Judy.


Don realized he was fucked only ten seconds after coming to the realization that he was in love with Judy. "Shit, shit, shit," he murmured to himself as he scrambled to get back to his room in an attempt for privacy. He didn't need to freak out in front of the others (especially Judy), lest they ask questions he didn't want to answer.

"Did something happen?" John asked as Don bolted past him.

"Nope, just a personal issue!" Don shouted back, hoping the other man would leave it go. As soon as he got to his room and the door closed, he practically collapsed on his bed. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He had known before that he had feelings for Judy but love? That was an entirely different ballgame he was completely unprepared for.

A knock on his door. "You okay? Dad said he thought something must have upset you because you ran back to your room, looking pale. Are you sick?"

Judy. He grinned despite the panic enveloping his system. "I'm fine. Just have a headache," he lied, hoping she bought it.

She didn't. "Don," Judy warned.

"Judy," he mocked.

"Don!" Judy rolled her eyes and just punched in the code that unlocked his door.

"Hey!" Don protested. He made no move to kick her out of the room, however, and patted his bed.

She sat down next to him. "You've been acting off for days, and you're scaring the shit out of me. What happened?" Judy pressed.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it," he told her, hoping to stall and figure out something that would satisfy her. Unfortunately, his brain was short-circuiting and he couldn't think of anything.

"And now I'm worrying even more. You know you can tell me anything and I won't judge you … too much."

He snorted. "You always know what to say, don't you, doc?"

Judy shrugged and flashed him a grin. "It's a gift." Then she decided to stare him down in hopes of getting him to talk.

"Have you seen Debbie? Is she wandering around the ship again?" Don asked, making a show of looking around his room for his beloved chicken.

"I can sit here and stare at you all day until you tell me what's up." Judy folded her arms and waited for him to fold.

"I know what you're doing so good luck," he told her.

She started tapping her foot on the ground. "I can annoy you too," a gleeful Judy taunted.

He could only shake his head but refused to break eye contact, actually enjoying their banter (which he always did, but still) in the midst of his freak out. No wonder he had it bad for her - she challenged him but was also pretty sweet (and stubborn as hell). "God, no wonder I feel the way I do," he murmured.

She strained to hear what he said but couldn't figure it out. "What was that?"

"Should have known this was going to happen to me." Don turned to face her and took her hand in his.

She blushed, confused and suddenly hopeful about where this conversation was going to happen. "What was going to happen to you?" she pressed.

He hoped he didn't fuck this up and ruin their friendship. "I have feelings for you."

Judy squashed down the urge to squeal. "Oh, you do?" she asked, trying to appear confident (and failing - she was now blushing even harder).

"I do." An awkward silence for a second before he plunged ahead. "Fuck it. I'm in love with you, Judy."

She blinked back tears before dropping his hand and leaning over to kiss him. "I'm in love with you, Don. Took you long enough," she teased.

"Oh, you gotta make fun of me for this too, don't you?" he grumbled with a smile on his face as he reluctantly pulled away from her.

"Always. Who would I be if I didn't make fun of you?" she asked, tilting her head, her grin lighting up the room.

"Good point." He kissed her again, trying to savor the moment.

"Penny's going to be thrilled - she's been telling me for months that you felt something for me but I wouldn't listen to her. And then Mom suddenly joined in yesterday, and I couldn't figure out why. Never going to live this down." Judy didn't really care, though - she was too happy to give any fucks what her family thought right now.

"Your dad's going to kill me," he suddenly said, color draining from his face.

Judy rolled her eyes. "Don't think about my dad right now. You're killing the mood here, Don."

"Sorry!" But as he kissed her again, he found he didn't really care about anything else either. RIght here, right now, Judy was all that mattered. Everything else could wait.


End file.
